


Solitude

by sunsetseas77



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Early Relationship, F/F, needed downtime, sort of domestic AU, supportive girlfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-12-31 04:20:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12124389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetseas77/pseuds/sunsetseas77
Summary: Sometimes a person just needs time alone.“Lena, there are two Kryptonians on this entire planet. And our parents saw the need to outfit us for our time on it with a fortress of solitude.” Kara lays her hand on Lena’s leg, understanding clear in the look she gives her.





	Solitude

Lena’s settled on her couch in a sweatshirt and pajama pants, glasses on and tablet in hand. She’s found the contentment she sought with her space encircling and calming her as darkness transitions to an overcast dawn that dissolves into the sunlit tableau of her balcony. She’s pulled inward mentally – her focus and efficiency at their highest points – and physically as well, her body wedged up against and almost into the edges of cushions, legs pulled up with the blanket wound tightly around them. Her eyes rarely lift from the tablet she is working on; the only noises are the faint sounds of the city waking up, the pigeons outside her glass door, and classical guitar playing quietly from her device’s speaker.

Hours have ticked by when she hears a rustling from the bedroom, then a door opening and the sound of water running. The sounds bring up parallel feelings of lightness and unease in her even as she continues to work.

Shortly after the water shuts off, Kara walks into the front room, without glasses and with hair pulled back, dressed for the day in extra clothes, in this case jeans and a dark red tank top, that she has started to carry in her bag. She locates Lena immediately, “There you are.” 

Lena looks up with a small smile and rests her tablet against her knees as Kara makes her way to the couch, grinning, and bends down to place a light kiss tasting of vanilla lip balm with a hint of mint toothpaste on Lena’s lips. As she pulls away she bumps Lena gently on the nose with her own. “You look snug. How are you this morning?”

This is all relatively new to the two of them and they are both a bit in awe that it’s somehow gone unbelievably smoothly over the past several weeks. Or at least each has found that the connection with and support from the other have made the normal and sometimes mundane interactions of a relationship feel like gifts and never burdens. Still, they aren’t completely naïve and they both recognize there are facets of each of them that haven’t yet been exposed within this new reality.

“I’m alright. Busy. I just want this board meeting to happen so the hours upon hours of preparation will end. How did you sleep?”

Kara hears the first part as she makes her way to the kitchen and picks through cupboards and drawers until she finds a loaf of potato bread and a knife, proceeding to slice six pieces and put them in the over-sized toaster. She rummages through the refrigerator to find the guava jam she had discovered in the Keys, straightening up with a delighted expression, and then pulls a mug down and pours the coffee that Lena had put on earlier. 

Noticing the quiet, she turns to find Lena still looking at her. “Sorry, got distracted - so my hearing stopped being super. Did you say something after the part about the board meeting?”

Lena straightens up but just barely. “How did you sleep?”

“Great.” Kara turns to pull toast out onto a plate and spreads jam over the pieces. “How about you? How long have you been out here?”

“A few hours. I slept pretty well, but then I got restless.” 

Lena had awoken early even for her, not sure what drug her out of slumber. She hadn’t been able to settle back down, listening to and feeling Kara lying within arms-reach on the king size bed. She recognized this state; it had been a new experience to have with Kara, but not unknown given past relationships, stressful situations, and combinations of the two. She had dealt with it like she did when she had the choice in the past, by putting space between herself and anyone around her.

As she answers, Kara comes over to the couch. Two fingers are laced through her coffee mug handle and she’s chewing a bite of the toast held between a finger and thumb while holding out the plate of remaining pieces in offering with her other hand. When Lena shakes her head, Kara glances into Lena’s coffee mug and asks, “Warm up?”

Lena declines again and Kara slides by her between the table and couch to sit at the far end, giving Lena space to stretch. She, however, elects to remain coiled, re-immersed in her tablet.

Kara stretches her stocking feet out onto the table and makes her way steadily through her breakfast, trying somewhat successfully to keep all of the crumbs on her plate. She takes a sip of coffee to wash down the last of her toast and then drops her head onto the back of the couch. Rolling it to the side, she faces Lena, “What would you like to do today? It’s Saturday so we could check out the farmer’s market downtown this morning. Rao, the green chilies they roast there are soooo good on burgers!” 

Lena somehow seems to sink even further into the couch and she doesn’t look up from her tablet. “Actually, I think I need to get some work done and to decompress a bit today.”

Kara looks at the downcast eyes and hears the change in timbre, conscious of how this positioning and tone are regularly present when Lena is uncertain. And uncertainty often puts Lena into defensive mode. Kara’s response is gentle, “Okay. What do you need then, if it’s not pushing for me to ask?”

Lena still feels like the biggest work in progress when it comes to transparency about her feelings. But when she looks up to answer and Kara is looking at her with those eyes that just want to know how she can help, Lena shuns the caution and defensiveness that are rising in her.

“I’m just a little tapped out. I’d like to work here today.” She pauses and then continues, “Alone.” That last word is uttered in a carefully neutral tone, testing the waters with her girlfriend.

Kara’s expression is a mixture of thoughtfulness and concern as she picks out the sincerity and struggle that linger under the cadence and the words, but Lena interprets it as unhappiness. She scrambles to explain herself, “I don’t want you to start second-guessing the time we’re together. I love spending time with you. So please don’t get the wrong idea or be offended. I can need a lot of downtime and I get the most out of it if I have that time alone. I realize this hasn’t come up before.”

Kara is equally quick in trying to reassure Lena, scooting a little closer on the couch as she does so, “Hey, you don’t have to explain. It’s not a problem.”

Lena’s gaze holds a certain amount of skepticism. “Are you sure? I’ve found people in my life, mostly of the romantic variety, don’t take this tendency of mine very well. In my experience, it gets met with a certain possessiveness, or at least judgment. I’d want you to be honest if that’s a part of your reaction.”

Kara is shaking her head as she speaks, “Lena, there are two Kryptonians on this entire planet. And our parents saw the need to outfit us for our time on it with a fortress… not a cottage, not a mansion, a fortress… of solitude.” Kara lays her hand on Lena’s leg, understanding clear in the look she gives her. “Kal and I rarely go there together. In fact, we pretty much always check in with the other before either goes. I get it. This is space and time you need. Please don’t feel badly.”

“You don’t feel like I’m kicking you out?”

“No. I feel like you’re being honest with me about what you need. I’ll pack up and head by the farmer’s market on my way home. Those chilies really are exquisitely spicy and now that I’ve remembered they’re there, I want some.” Kara gives her leg a gentle pat before moving her hand away and standing. “Would you text me later today or tomorrow? Wait, let me phrase that differently. Would you text me later, whenever you’re ready to?”

“Of course I will,” Lena catches the hand that is nearest her and squeezes it. Kara returns the gesture.

——

It’s almost 10 PM when Kara’s phone rings. She smiles at the display and picks up, “Hi.”

Lena’s voice is unfairly energetic for the hour given when she got up, “Hi. I’m just finishing up my presentation for the board and I wanted to give you a call. It’s been a very productive, and strangely enjoyable, but very long day. How did yours go?”

“Excellent. I finished my piece and took Alex to lunch and then ended up meeting one of my colleagues for coffee and we worked out an amazing story idea to pitch on Monday.”

“Sounds busy. Does that mean you might have some free time tomorrow? Would you like to maybe get brunch?”

Kara laughs, “I wouldn’t miss it. I’ll come by at 10. You should go finish up so you can get some sleep.”

Lena’s voice drops a little lower, becomes a little more intimate, “I will. See you then. Good night.”

“Good night.” Kara hangs up, the conversation warming her in a similar way to the sun on her skin. While this morning she had wanted to spend the day with Lena, an experience like this where they had been able to learn about and respond to each other is far more important for them.

And when Kara shows up at Lena's front door the next morning precariously balancing two coffees, a half-gallon jug of orange juice, and large cartons of champagne mangos and strawberries with a packed paper bag of pastries hanging from her teeth by the fold at the top and Lena beams at her, the sense of comfort and ease is firmly back with them.


End file.
